a. Field of the Invention
In general, this invention relates to devices for the collection of eggs, on a commercial basis, from an array of poultry cages. More specifically, however, this invention relates to significant improvements in apparatus comprising a vertical egg collector which greatly reduces the risk of damage to the eggs during the collection process, thereby substantially increasing productivity.
b. Description of the Related Art
Egg collection apparatus of the general type and kind disclosed by the present invention is also seen in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 587,668, U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,016 and certain other references cited therein. However, none of this prior art discloses, nor makes obvious the unique combination of elements presented and claimed herein. As a result, no prior art, nor combination thereof, solves the problems resolved by the present invention.
In general, devices of this type are utilized to efficiently collect eggs delivered by a series of cage conveyors associated with an arrangement of confinement cages. Once collected, the eggs are delivered to a cross conveyor which carries the eggs away for further processing, packaging and eventual shipping. During the collection process, however, contact between the eggs themselves, and with the handling equipment necessarily occurs and can cause severe damage and marking to the eggs which, unless controlled, can significantly impact the productivity of the laying operation. For example, prior are devices of this type necessarily require some means of removing the individual eggs from the main collector belt and depositing them onto the cross conveyor. In the device disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,016 and others, this equipment comprises a removal plate (reference numeral 17 in the '016 patent, see column 7, lines 31-38) having tines or fingers which dislocate the eggs from the main collector belt and onto the cross conveyor.
Similarly, the transfer of the eggs from the conveyors associated with the cage configuration into the main collector belt, in most cases, involves contact between adjacent eggs on the cage conveyors and the equipment used to effectuate the transfer. Moreover, movement of the eggs within the individual compartments of a main collector belt, and the resulting contact with the conveyor elements can also be excessive depending on the random orientation of the eggs within the individual compartments of the collector belt. This too can cause severe damage and marking to the eggs and reduce productivity dramatically.
Other drawbacks accompanying the prior art devices of this type and kind include difficulties associated with the servicing and replacement of the main collector belt. In addition, the prior art devices have a relatively narrow range of adaptability to the various types of cage configurations used in the industry.